PhD
Assistant Professor
Location:
Medical Wing C
Education:
BA – Wake Forest University
PhD – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Postdoctoral fellowship – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Summary Statement:
Dr. Stephens is primarily interested in early cognitive development, specifically attention and executive function, and how those skills are related to later cognition. She is also interested in the neurobiological underpinnings of these behaviors, as well as typical and atypical trajectories of brain development. She has worked with UNC’s NeuroImage Research and Analysis Laboratories (NIRAL) through her involvement with the Early Brain Development Studies (EBDS; PI: John Gilmore, MD) to explore these early patterns of development and brain-behavior relationships.
In addition to her specific research interests, Dr. Stephens has a strong interest in and commitment to research methodology. She works with different projects in the School of Medicine and other departments at UNC to help assure that studies are utilizing the most reliable tools and protocols both in terms of task-based assessments and reports of behavior as well as MRI image acquisition. Dr. Stephens is also committed to increasing research opportunities for undergraduate students interested in research careers. She oversees undergraduate involvement in multiple studies and places a high value on mentoring students in research.
